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Thursday, 27 December 2012

Top 50 albums of 2012: 30 - 21

A heavily 303 influenced album by one of the geniuses of
Swedish Ambient legends Carbon Based Lifeforms. Chilled out grooves, 303
squelches and soothing melodies. Absolutely amazing.

~Chris

29. Bart Constant - Tell Yourself Whatever You Have To

"I know where kind of going on a limb, stop trying to avoid
embarrassment" advises Rutger Hoedemaekers (otherwise known by his
latest project's name, Bart Constant) by the second song on Tell
Yourself Whatever You Have To. And on a limb it goes, void of
embarrassment, as the album is filled to the brim with catchy melodies
and rich, lush compositions that weave synthesizers, samples, and
instruments seamlessly such as in "Gravity," which despite its name,
ascends to great heights with a powerful optimistic horn section and
marching rhythm, while songs like "Do Better (Animals Make Me Angry)"
are more reflective but still expansive. On "Point," manic vocalizations
are found at every turn, making for one of the most enthralling tracks
on the album. "It's fun to play a character like me," he chimes on
"Seven-Minute Revolution"--turns out, it's just as fun to listen as
well.

~Jake

28. Mumford & Sons - Babel

Mumford & Sons sophomore album gives the fans exactly what they
want without changing around too much of their award winning concept. Arena
folk and bluegrass with songs that will be stuck in your heads for months to
come.

~Chris

27. MewithoutYou - Ten Stories

Usually each mewithoutYou album presents a vastly different change in
sound. The debut LP A to B] Life featured them at their rawest,
post-hardcore sound, as Catch for Us the Foxes signified a more
polished, refined version of that. Brother, Sister featured more of a
folk infusion into the sound while It's All Crazy! It's All False! It's
All A Dream It's Alright took the influence further than some fans can
still be comfortable with. But this year's Ten Stories serves more as a
look back on their progression as a band. Songs like opener "February
1878" and "Fox's Dream of the Log Flume" are strongly reminiscent of
their second and third albums, while the meditative "Aubergine" is all
It's All Crazy! That doesn't mean the Weiss brothers and company don't
have room to grow, however: "Cardiff Giant" may very well be their most
cheerful song ever written. The lyricism too has been taken in a new,
yet familiar, territory. Often Aaron Weiss' songs were encrypted
testimonies of his struggles between himself, his loved ones, and his
religion (without the last one being overbearing or preachy), but Ten
Stories is their first concept album, telling the story of a train wreck
releasing zoo animals in the North American wilderness, framing
allegories for Weiss interpersonal parables. The album's finale "All
Circles" muses, "All circles presuppose their end where they begin."
mewithoutYou may be covering some old ground with Ten Stories, but it's a
welcome return and still opens the exciting possibilities of where
they'll go next.

~Jake

26. The Flashbulb - Opus at the End of Everything

The first of two albums released by Benn Jordan this year.
Filled to the brim with beautiful orchestral elements and interesting rhythmic
passages that evoke a sense of melancholia and mystery that manages to peak
your interest at every glitchy turn.

~Chris

25. The xx - Coexist

While
the formula remained fairly unchanged on the London trio's second album,
Coexist marked the band establishing their sound as much more refined - a
certain maturity pouring through the shadowy cloud of guitar strums and
electronic beats throughout. But above all, the album's deep and at-times
troubling subject matter and lyrical context suggested something far more
personal, and it was given to us, in parts, through hushed vocals, and in
others, through the music's objective means of less = more.

~Jordan

24. Scott Walker - Bish Bosch

Bish Bosch is Scott Walkers 14th studio album. The exquisite
instrumentation could possibly be the most obscure Walker to date. We have
slashing sounds of knives and swords, the sound of trumpets and ukulele’s and
above all, Walker’s deep, powerful voice.

~Eddie

23. Trifonic - Ninth Wave

The critical (which means me, amongst others) follow up to
the in 2008 released Emergence sees the IDM influenced music of Brian Trifon
return with a vengeance. An album worthy of remembrance.

~Chris

22. Matthew Dear - Beams

Away
from the joyously melancholic trips between midnight clubs, glittery evening
streets and disco-fueled energy in music, Beams was Matthew Dear's homage, as
much as it was a celebration, of that lush spectrum of musical culture.
Combined with Dear's grumbling murmured baritone, the music's dusk, bubbly,
oil-on-water textures conjured up a state of social enjoyment as much as it did
a very intricate and prolonged personal stance.

~Jordan

21. Hot Chip - In Our Heads

To top 2010's One Life Stand, Hot Chip would need to up
their game, both musically and contextually. Not only did they achieve this
goal, but they found a way to merge the former romanticism of previous with
their established geeky divulging of electro beats and melodic arrangements.
The result is as close to a complete, entertaining and frankly brilliant
demonstration in how electronic sounds should be incorporated into more
pop-orientated music.